Holding Gaze

Description

Encourage them to talk, then pay close attention, gazing directly at them.
Look at their face and into their eyes as if you cannot drag your eyes away.

Match their emotions in this. If they are describing achievement, look
pleased. If they are describing a hurt, look sympathetic.

Be careful with this. Do not stare -- use a soft and flattering gaze that
says 'you are wonderful'. If they start to look at all uncomfortable, pull your eyes reluctantly away
with an apologetic brief smile. Glance back frequently as if you are dying to
gaze at them again.

If they seem happy with this, you can also turn body-on towards them. If they
are less comfortable, look at their face more and eyes less, with occasional
glancing away.

Example

A politician, meeting a set of people greets each in
turn, gazing softly and smiling directly at them. The politician asks a question
and then listens attentively, holding their gaze.

Discussion

Gazing directly at another person signals deep personal interest and is
common in romantic situations. When done outside this scenario, it triggers the
same response as you effectively 'romance' them. Although it may seem to be best
cross-gender (heterosexually), it is also surprisingly effective in same-sex
situations.

Staring directly at another person can also be an act of aggression, saying
'I am more powerful than you' and trying to make them look away first, which
means you must be very careful if you are trying to create rapport! Particularly
where the gaze is same-sex, it can be interpreted as within-gender rivalry. Two
secrets for this: first, it is a lot to do with how you are thinking, and
secondly you need to watch very carefully for signs of discomfort and respond
immediately, as above.

An important note: Your eyes and the muscles around them signal much your
emotions (they are the 'windows of the soul). So when you are looking interested
or sympathetic, you must actually be interested or sympathetic.